Police chiefs call for tighter security at L-S

Friday

May 25, 2007 at 12:01 AMMay 25, 2007 at 2:11 PM

Restricted doors, identification cards and security cameras could all become part of the landscape at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School should school officials decide to act on several recommendations offered by the police chiefs in Lincoln and Sudbury.

Police Departments in both towns worked together to come up with 13 recommendations for both school officials and the L-S Safety Review Committee, which is charged with reviewing and making recommendations on the operational, physical and educational aspects of L-S as they relate to the safety of students, faculty and staff.

Stacey Hart/Staff Writer

Police Departments in both towns worked together to come up with 13 recommendations for both school officials and the L-S Safety Review Committee, which is charged with reviewing and making recommendations on the operational, physical and educational aspects of L-S as they relate to the safety of students, faculty and staff.

“Once classes begin, restrict access into the building only through the lower level A-B entrance and the main office entrance. We’re recommending both entrances be monitored throughout the day,” said Lincoln Police Chief Kevin Mooney.

The chiefs also recommended changes to school access prior to the start of classes. Sudbury Police Chief Peter Fadgen said there should be designated areas for students who arrive early.

The school doors open at 6:30 a.m. with some students arriving at 7 a.m. He said they want to make sure there is an area where there is adequate staff to monitor these students. Right now, students can go anywhere in the school and roam the halls prior to classes starting, Fadgen said.

Mooney and Fadgen recommended that all staff and students be given school-issued identification cards. Staff would be required to wear the ID cards, which would have their photograph, name and department, at all times, Mooney said.

“We did it this year on the Lincoln (schools) campus with the staff and it’s been received very positively here,” he said.

Students would not be required to wear their ID card, but they would need to have it on them at all times, Fadgen said. The student cards would have their photograph, name, grade and house on them.

“I understand that they are passed out now, but a lot of students don’t carry them,” Fadgen said.

The ID cards for students and staff would be needed to get into the building during the school day, he said. Anyone without an ID can be asked what they are doing in the school and told to check in at the main office. Carrying an ID card could also help identify someone who is injured or hurt, Fadgen said.

The police chiefs said all visitors should sign in at the main office and get a visitors badge. With everyone checking in, Mooney said at least a person knows they have to go through some channels to get into the building.

“Right now, you can walk into anywhere in the building,” Mooney said.

Mooney referred to an incident in a neighboring town recently where a man was hanging around a school and watching girls in a gym. After someone asked why he was there and he gave a phony answer, police were called and it turned out the man was a Level 3 sex offender, he said.

Sudbury Town Manager Maureen Valente said there could also be problems during a fire or other evacuation from the school if staff don’t know who is in the building.

“the National Fire Prevention Association states that any pre-incident planning … you should have some method for accounting for all the occupants in your building,” she said. “If you don’t have a sense for who came in the building, how do you know you got them all out?”

To help make sure all visitors enter through the main entrance where they can sign in, Mooney said there needs to be adequate visitor parking in front of the school.

The police chiefs would also like to see security cameras installed in certain areas of the building, including the auditorium, main entrance and the lower level A-B entrance. The cameras would be unmanned, but would run 24 hours per day, seven days per week, Fadgen said.

“If an incident happens at any time of the day, this video can be retrieved,” he said.

An increase in the number of school security staff and the addition of a school resource officer were also on the chiefs’ list of recommendations.

“He or she would be there to work with students, staff or administration to enhance safety, and to assist the faculty and administration developing and implementing a program regarding drug, alcohol and safety issues,” Fadgen said.

The recommendations also include posting “no trespassing signs” around the building that state only those with official school business are allowed on the property.

Neither police chief spoke about potential costs for any of the recommendations and Valente said they were only asked to address the ideas that they believed were most important for the school to implement. The evaluation of costs can come later, she said.

With all the recommendations for additional safety and security measures, Fadgen pointed out that the school has done quite a bit in the last year.

“They developed and implemented a safety response plan, conducting several tabletop exercises, allowed both police departments to use the high school for training and practicing the lockdown procedures,” he said.